St. Urith of Chittlehampton, Virgin(Erth, Heiritha)

8 July

Born at East Stowford, Devonshire, England; date unknown. Few sources
mention Saint Urith, foundress of the church at Chittlehampton. She was
a consecrated virgin who was killed by haymakers at the instigation of a
jealous, possibly pagan, stepmother. A stream sprang out of the ground
where she fell, much as in the legends of Saints Sidwell and Cyniburg.
She may have been persecuted by the Saxons. The vita found at her shrine
records the miracles wrought by her and is the basis for the rhyming
Latin poem about her in Trinity College, Cambridge (Manuscript 0.9.38).

The offerings at her shrine were sufficient to build the tower of
Chittlehampton, reputed to have been the finest in Devon. So great was
her reputation for miracles that the offerings provided to the vicar
were three times the income from tithes and glebe. The removal of her
statue from the church in 1539-1540 led to a diminution of her cultus.
The pulpit built about 1500
survives with a figure of Saint Urith holding the palm of martyrdom and
the foundation of the stone church. There is a 16th-century
stained-glass window of her at Nettlecombe in Somerset
(Farmer).

Troparion of St Urith tone 5
O holy Virgin Martyr Urith/ who didst suffer martyrdom in a Devon
village/ and didst patiently endure the jealousy of thy pagan
stepmother;/ pray for the faithful/ who are today suffering
persecution,/ that evil may be destroyed and that God may be glorified,/
that we may cry to thee: Rejoice, O Virgin Urith.